Machine for reducing fibrous material



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

R. DANIELS. MACHINE FOR SEPARATING CLOTH AND FIBR-OUS MATERIAL T0 FIBRE.

Patented Jan. 22, 1861.

2 She'etsS heet 2.

R. DANIELS. MACHINE FOR SBPAEATING CLOTH AND FIBROUS MATERIAL TO FIBRE.

, No. 31,154. Patented Jan. 22, 1861.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

REUBEN DANIELS, OF WOODSTOCK, VERMONT.

MACHINE FOR REDUCING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 31,154, dated January 22, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, REUBEN DANIELS, of Woodstock, in the county ofWindsor and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Machine forSeparating Cloth and Fibrous Material to Fiber; and I hereby declarethat the following specification, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings and letters of reference thereon, constitutes a lucid, clear,and exact description of the construction and use of the same.

In referring to the said drawings, Figure 1, denotes a plan or top view.Fig. 2, a side elevation. Fig. 3, a central vertical section on line A,B, Fig. 1. Fig. 4, a view of the revolving wheel disconnected from themachine and inverted.

The object of my invention is to efiectually separate and refiber, castoff cloth and other fibrous material and reproduce (not destroy) thelongest possible staple, at one operation, or once running through themachine. And its nature consists of two fiber separating wheels; theworking face of each being made concave and provided with peculiar sharppointed teeth, secured thereto, angular with their face surfaces; andoperated to separate worn out cloths and fibrous material; to reproduce(not destroy) the longest possible staple in a fit state for carding;these wheels being made adjustable to, and with, each othersubstantially as clescribed, and hereinafter set forth.

Construction.

To enable persons skilled in the construction of machinery, and in theart to which my invention appertains to construct and carry out the sameI will describe it as follows: I

I construct a frame of wood seen at A, and supported on blocks B, in andacross the central portion of which frame two bars K, and L, are firmlyfastened. I then construct two fiber wheels M, and N, of iron, the wheelNI through plate I, and rest in a cavity drilled or formed in theadjustable bar H, so as to freely turn therein, this bar being hinged atone of its ends as seen at 6, Fig. 2, while the other can be effectuallymoved up or down to constitute an adjustable step, by screw rod and nutP, to elevate or depress the fiber wheel N, at pleasure.

The faces of each of the wheels M, and N, are made slightly concave fromtheir periphery about half way to the axis of shaft F, and provided withdifferent sized teeth made of steel and set angularly as seen at Fig. 3,in order to catch, operate upon, and separate the cloth, or fibrousmaterial readily and easily, and deliver it.

The teeth are, or may be all made of round steel wire or rods, thelarger ones being nearest the center and seen at a, and those seen at c,gradually diminishing in length and size of the wire toward theperiphery of the wheels. These teeth being firmly secured and sopositioned in the face surface of each wheel at an acute angle, thattheir points will stand or reach forward of a perpendicular line, whenthe wheels are worked with their faces level; the shaft and its wheeland teeth are then placed, and set revolving in an engine lathe, and theteeth turned, or ground, by a cutting tool, or an emery board, or anysuitable means, in the plane of revolution, and as near at right angleswith the axis of motion as is convenient; thus quickly and cheaplyform-ing a very sharp, durable and efiectual point to all the teeth, andwhile the fiber wheel is revolv- In addition to the shape,.

ing in the lathe. or point, now given the teeth,such of them as may bedesired and seen at a, can be beveled to a circumferential line in thecenter of these teeth, and on the sides of them toward,

.to so operate upon the teeth; forming their points the shape indicatedat a, Fig. 4. Teeth may be constructed to efiect the de' sired purposeby forming them on the edge of a steel plate, the points standing,forward of their base line, which plates are afterward bent and securedby circular grooves formed in the face of the wheels, or such teeth maybe formed on the segment of a circle to be secured to the wheels bygrooves or otherwise. The rows of teeth, by the adjustability of eachwheel may interpass between those of the other wheel, so that the faceof each wheel will come nearly in contact with the ends of the teeth onthe opposite wheel, at their periphery, but not so toward the center,where the teeth are larger and the spaces between them also larger thanat the periphery. The object of enlarged spaces between the faces of thewheels and teeth nearest the center of the wheels being to instantlyengage and operate upon the cloth or fibrous matter after it is fed intoor between the fiber wheels lVI, and N.

The wheel N, has a water cavity formed in it, seen at O, to retain aquantity of water or liquid for the purpose of saturating the materialas it is fed therein by means of feed cavity E, separated by plate W,and sides Q from wheel and throat S, through hole V, in wheel M. Apassage for the water or liquid is formed as seen at X, Fig. 3, to allowa free circulation, when the machine is in operation, meaning that thewater or liquid which is put in motion by turning the wheel N, willthereby pass through passage X, over plate W', and then through throatS, back into the center cavity O, and between the wheels, to both feedin the material for separation, and to nicely and slowly move this samematerial outward between the wheels M and N.

The points of the teeth may be pointed as seen at a, for those of thelarger size, and occupying the inner ring, while the others or anyportion of them may be left with the points formed by being ground orfaced in their inclined position, which forms sharp points on their endsby being so ground, in a plane at right angles with the axis of motion,when secured angularly in such plane, and in the concave face of thewheels M, and N.

The frame A, has a water tank or basin C, formed at its lower part bythe bottom and side boards Q, the water or liquid being seen at D, whichpartially submerges both fiber wheels M and N, to admit air forrelieving the pressure of liquid which would otherwise tend to press thewheels apart, and thus consume power. divided at the periphery and faceor upper surface of wheel N,by partition R, perforated as seen at i, toretain the fiber above, and in basin C, as it is delivered from wheelsM, and N, and trough T, shown in dotted lines, and allow the dirt,refuse and sediment to settle through holes 2', into water cavity belowand from which it can be drawn off by a gate or stop cock (not shown)and not waste the fiber or staple.

' A pulley G, is secured to top of shaft F, by which my machine isdriven from any convenient motor, and at a speed of about three hundredrevolutions per minute, when This water apartment is the fiber wheels donot exceed four feetin diameter.

The wheel N, is put in motion, and by that means the water or liquid Dand a quantity of air are also moved constantly in a powerful currentfrom the center of wheels M, and N, and of cavity 0, and between thewheels and their teeth, and toward and from their periphery. Thesubstance or material being properly prepared is run through an ordinarypicker, and from thence discharged into water cavity E, and over plate\V, the material is then instantly carried forward by the current, asthe upper red arrow points, and through the throat S into the center ofthe fiber wheels M, and N, and cavity 0, the current of water or fluidand air carries the stock then at once in con- --tact with the teeth a,and c, and toward the periphery of these wheels the coarse or largeteeth a, by their sharp points, at once begin to separate. the fiber,the tendency of the current, and centrifugal force of wheel be' ing tocontinually and easily move the fiber outward, and to separate, but notto break or shorten it, by the action of the teeth in the fluid as theteeth grow finer and smaller, until the fiber is delivered from thewheels, thoroughly separated and with the longest possible staple. Thevertical adjustments or position of wheels N, for the different kinds ofmaterial or substance, will readily suggest itself to a competentoperator. The fiber when separated is easily skimmed from the water orfluid in cavity 0.

Various modifications may be made of my invention and yet retain theprinciple therein exemplified, for example the upper wheel may berevolved instead of the lower one, or they may bot-h be revolved andoperated without water.

Having thus described my invention I will state my disclaimer and claimas follows. i

I make no claim to pulp grinding wheels, having their faces armed withcutters, or bars of'steel, used in making paper, as such have long beenknown and used. Neither do I claim rasp shaped teeth, raised on thefaces of steel plates, when operated upon fibrous material, without acontinuous feed or delivery, and having no continuous current from thecenter to periphery of wheels. Nor any device, having for its object, toshorten the staple; for they are entirely different from, and woulddefeat the very purpose, and cannot be made to answer the object of myinvention. What I do claim as my invention and desire to secure byLetters Patent is In fiber separating wheels like M, and N, is providingthe working face of each with pointed teeth a, and c, or theirequivalents secured thereto, and set substantially in the v mannerdescribed, When operated With a ing made adjustable to, and With, eachother substantially as described and for the pur- 10 poses set forth.

REUBEN DANIELS.

\Vitnesses E. WV. SCOTT, M. A. SCOTT.

